Hill-Murray Punches Their Ticket to State Tournament With 4AA Sectional Win

The section 4AA title game took place Thursday evening at Aldrich Arena between two fantastic teams that played a natural foil to each other with their vastly different backgrounds. Hill-Murray is a traditional powerhouse, a metro-area blue-blood that finished second place in the state tournament last season. They have also played in the sectional title game for several straight seasons.

The Woodbury Royals, on the other hand, are a program that has been building momentum over the last several years. They may not have been a powerhouse recently, but they have climbed the ranks of Minnesota high school hockey. In 2023-24, Woodbury went 20-5-2 before falling to Stillwater in the Section 4AA semifinal. Though they lost, going far in the tournament cemented Woodbury as a bona fide factor in sectionals. They built on that momentum even more this season, finishing 22-3-2 and earning the #1 seed in the Section 4AA tournament.

Video: Pioneers celebrate

On the road to the final matchup, Woodbury eliminated Stillwater to advance to the championship game, while Hill-Murray steamrolled St. Paul Highland Park and East Ridge by a combined score of 17-1. With both teams looking to book their spot at the Xcel Energy Center for the state tournament, the contest was sure to be an intense and competitive affair.

The beginning of the game certainly lived up to that intensity, as both teams had their share of chances. Hill-Murray and Woodbury played back-and-forth hockey for most of the first period. The two teams traded penalties early, as Woodbury’s Bonnie Zhao was called for body-checking, but Hill-Murray committed a too-many-players-on-the-ice infraction to end their advantage.

Hill-Murray broke through late in the first period with a pair of goals that gave them an early lead. The first goal went to Elliana Engelhardt with assists from Emily Pohl and Jaycee Chatlein. Engelhardt’s goal was her 18th of the season. The Pioneers scored again less than a minute later when Sophie Olson scored a short-handed goal that gave Hill-Murray a two-goal lead. Olson’s goal was her tenth of the season, assisted by Ella Hornung. With two late markers, Hill-Murray put an exclamation point on an even period up until that point.

The second period started with Hill-Murray applying even more pressure. A turnover by Woodbury in the Pioneers’ zone led to Kasey Senden sending a stretch pass from the blue line to a streaking Emily Pohl. Pohl was in alone on a breakaway and scored just 40 seconds into the period to give the Pioneers a three-goal lead. Pohl, a tenth-grader, scored her 36th goal of the season with the dazzling effort. Pohl is in the top ten in the state for goals and top five for points, proving to be an incredibly effective weapon for Hill-Murray.

From there, the second period proceeded to be a back-and-forth affair where Hill-Murray got greater chances. Woodbury had some success on the rush, but the Royals had difficulty setting up in the offensive zone. They got a golden opportunity to get back in the game at 12:52 when Hill-Murray’s Gwynn Skoogman was called for a high-sticking minor.

If Hill-Murray has had any weaknesses this season, it’s been on the penalty kill, where they’ve only performed at a 75.6% kill rate. If Woodbury would get back in the game, this was an excellent chance. Unfortunately for the Royals, they could not convert on the powerplay, and the second period ended 3-0 in favor of Hill-Murray. The Royals needed a gargantuan effort in the final frame, with their season hanging in the balance.

At the beginning of the third period, Woodbury put in the effort they needed, and they were rewarded when Alaina Gnetz made a fantastic play by taking on multiple Hill-Murray defenders. She came away with the puck in front of the Hill-Murray net and backhanded a shot in the net that was her 34th goal of the season. Gnetz is a Junior at Woodbury and is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

The goal energized the Royals, and they pushed for another goal in the next several moments. They had a few scoring chances but were snuffed out by the Pioneers’ defense and first-year goaltender Piper Tam. Unfortunately for the Royals, the momentum halted when Alexa Bricko was called for a hooking penalty, sending Hill-Murray to the power play.

Hill-Murray quickly capitalized on the opportunity when the Pioneer power play set up in the Woodbury zone. Hill-Murray created chaos in front of the Royals’ net, and a shot from the point found its way into the back of the net. Kasey Senden scored the goal to put her team up 4-1.

The 4-1 deficit proved too much to overcome for Woodbury as the Pioneers locked the game up and limited any further chances. The game ended 4-1, with shots on goal being 43-30 in favor of Hill-Murray. Though Woodbury fell in the final game, their season was remarkable for a program that should now be competing at this level going into the future. The program had an admirable season and has built itself into a contender.

Hill-Murray’s Piper Tam made 29 saves on 30 shots while Woodbury’s Alyssa Polaski made 39 saves on 43 shot attempts.

With the victory, Hill-Murray officially punched their ticket to the state tournament, setting up an opportunity to avenge last year’s state final loss. Hill-Murray joins an AA field consisting of Farmington, Rosemount, Andover and Moorhead. As the fifth-ranked AA team in the state and with another great season under their belt, the Pioneers must be considered a threat to take home the title in St. Paul.

Section 4A Championship

Academy of Holy Angels 3, South St. Paul 2     2OT

In the game of the night, Riley Iverson’s goal almost eight minutes into the second overtime lifted Academy fo Hoply Angels past South ST. Paul and back into the state tournament for the second year in a row. In a back-and-forth battle, the Stars and the Packers of South St Paul High School skated to a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation which would force an extra session.

The teams traded goals through the first three frames. Holy Angels got on board first when Marissa Jung scored on a power play, assisted by Juilanna Hitchcock. But the Packers closed out the period with a goal form Alida Ahern with just 17 seconds left for a 1-1 deadlock heading into the locker room.

Holy Angels went up 2-1 when leading scorer Taylor Lesnar notched her 21^st of the season just under a minute into play. It stayed that way until six minutes into the third when  Isabella Stinsa scored her fifth, and biggest, goal of the season. It would eventually force overtime as Packer goalie Reagan Tracy turned away 11 shots in the third to keep the Stars off the board. Holy Angels netminder and Jori Jones semifinalist Zoe Rimstad was equally impressive, turning away eight shots in the third.

Tracy was just as good in the first overtime, stopping all eight shots she faced as the Stars outshot the Packers 8-3. It wasn’t until the 42^nd shot of the night that Iverson scored the clincher, sending the Stars back to the X where they finished fourth a season ago.

A junior defenseman, it was Iverson’s eighth goal of the season.

South St. Paul’s Ahern had a goal and an assist and finished her senior season with 31 goals and 24 assists for 55 points. Ms. Hockey Semifinalist and senior defenseman Lily Pachl added an assist, giving her 20 goals and 22 assists on the season. The Packers finished 19-8-0.

Section 8A Championship

Warroad 4, Crookston 2

Three-time defending champion Warroad found themselves deadlocked in a 2-2 tie with less than five minutes to play Thursday. Crookston’s Addison Fee scored with 4:14 left in the game to tie it at two apiece.

But just 50 seconds later Warroad’s Karlee Kalbrener scored here second goal of the night, and then less than two minutes later assisted on a much-needed insurance goal by Taylor Reese to seal the 4-2 victory.

Jaylie French lit the lamp for the Warroad Warriors at the 15:38 mark of the opening frame for Warroad’s other tally. After a scoreless second period, Crookston knotted the contest up courtesy of Jocelyn Field. Payton Rolli made 19 saves for the Warriors. The Warriors had a 39-to-21 edge in shots on goal. They are making their 10^th straight state tournament appearance and have won the last three Class A titles. Can they make it four in a row?

Section 1A Championship

Dodge County 4, Albert Lea 2

Dodge County would rattle off four late goals as the Wildcats skated past Albert Lea 4-2 to secure a trip to Xcel Energy Center and the 2025 Class A Girls State High School Hockey Tournament. The Wildcats received two goals each from Maysie Koch and Zoe Heimer. Albert Lea’s offense came courtesy of Shelby Evans and Olivia Ellsworth who each scored a goal a piece. Senior defenseman Mika Cichosz added an assist to give her 39 goals and 24 assists on the season as she finishes as the state’s top-scoring defenseman. She is slated to play college hockey at Minnesota State.

Dodge County is making their second straight trip to state. They finished second last season. Losing to reigning champion Warroad. Albert Lea finishes their season 21-5-1.

Section 1AA Championship

Farmington 3, Northfield 0

Farmington claimed the section after a three-year hiatus with a 3-0 win over defending section champion Northfield Thursday night.  Farmington opened up the scoring with Josey Empey finding Layla Garofalo in the slot for the first lead of the game which would go to the Tigers. FHS would take an 8-3 shots on goal advantage to the break. Farmington extended the lead with a Taylor Risch goal at the 2:31 mark to take a 2-0 lead. Risch tallied her second of the section final in the third period unassisted. Goaltender Addison Moudry recorded a 15 save shutout and the Tigers had a 23-15 shots on goal average as they punched their ticket to the Xcel Energy Center and a trip to St. Paul, their first since 2021 and their ninth in program history. Northfield finishes their season 15-11-2.

Section 7AA Championship

Andover 7, Grand Rapids/Greenway 3

Amelia McQuay had a hat trick and Courtney Little added a pair of goals to lead Andover to their eighth straight Section 7AA title. The Huskies and Grand Rapids/Greenway battled through a 3-2 first period where the Huskies had the edge in shots 10-5. Julia Gerdes, McQuay and Little all found the back of the net. Maya Engler and McQuay broke the contest open in the second period giving Andover a 5-2 lead through two periods. In the third, Little tallied her second of the game while McQuay secured a section final hat trick and the insurance marker to secure a trip to the State Hockey Tournament. McQuay, who is committed to Bethel University, doubled her goal total for the season. Clairebella Hills turned aside 10-of-13 shots as Andover held a 35-to-13 edge in shots on goal.

Green Rapids Greenway star Mercury Bischoff added a pair of goals, giving her a state-leading 58 on the season and 233 in her career. She finishes her career with an astonishing 381 points. She will play next season at Minnesota State. The Lightning finished their season 21-6-1.

Friday Night Games

Section 2AA: Holy Family vs. Minnetonka at Braemar Arena

Section 5AA: Maple Grove vs. Centennial/Spring Lake Park at Roseville Arena

Section 6AA: Benilde-St. Margaret’s vs. Edina at Parade Ice Garden

Section 2A: River Lakes vs. Willmar at Runestone Community Center (Alexandria)

Section Winners:

1A: Dodge County

3A: Marshall

4A: Academy of Holy Angels

5A: Orono

6A: Fergus Falls

7A: Proctor/Hermantown

8A: Warroad

1AA: Farmington

3AA: Rosemount

4AA: Hill-Murray

7AA: Andover

8AA: Moorhead